Fluidic ejection cartridges may be used in variety of applications, including for instance inkjet printing applications, medicinal fluid delivery applications, and vapor delivery applications. The amount of time such cartridges remain in transit from the manufacture and/or in storage (prior to installation and use) may constitute a large portion of the lifecycle of the cartridge. In some instances, the shipping and storage time may even constitute the majority of the lifecycle of the cartridge. Consequently, it is important that the operability of the cartridge not degrade during storage, even if the cartridge remains in storage for an extended period of time.
During shipping and storage of the fluidic ejection cartridges, a protective tape may be used to cover the ejection head and ejection nozzles on the ejection head. The protective tape prevents contamination of the ejection head, prevents seepage of fluid from the ejection head, and reduces the amount of moisture evaporated from the fluid in the cartridge during shipping and storage of the cartridge. Prior to use, the protective tape must be removed from the fluidic ejection cartridge to expose the ejection nozzles. However, removal of the protective tape may itself prove to be problematic and lead to damage of the ejection head or residual tape or adhesive left on the ejection head which can hamper the operation of the fluid ejection device.
In order to prevent damage to the ejection head, a protective tape having a relatively weak adhesive layer is sometimes used. However, if a protective tape is excessively weak in adhesiveness, it is possible that the protective tape will peel and fall off of the ejection head when the fluidic cartridge is clamped to be conveyed or packaged using automatic packaging machines. Excessive vibrations of the fluidic cartridge during packaging and conveying may also cause the protective tape to peel from the ejection head. Accordingly, the use of relatively weak adhesiveness of the protective tape may result in premature peeling of the tape from the ejection head.
In order to assure that the protective tape does not prematurely peel off of the ejection head, a protective tape having greater adhesiveness is typically used in combination with a pull tape. The pull tape assists in removal of the protective tape and may be attached to an underside or to a backside of the protective tape. The pull tape typically contains an adhesive having a substantially greater peel strength than the protective tape. However, if the adhesiveness of the protective tape is great enough to prevent premature peeling from the ejection head, there is a greater possibility that the protective tape will detach from a pull tape used to remove the protective tape and thus remain on the ejection head preventing the ejection head from proper operation.
Accordingly, what is needed is an improved protective tape system for fluidic ejection cartridges that substantially eliminates incomplete removal of the protective tape from an ejection head. It is also desirable to provide a system to ensure that the protective tape is removed from the ejection head prior to usage of the cartridge and that removal of the protective tape does not damage the ejection head.